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A year in numbers with P&O Cruises

A lot can happen in a year, and don’t we know it! From glasses toasted over the festive period to top-ranking experiences on ship and on shore, it all adds up to a lot of holiday happiness in 2023

4 min 31 Dec 2023

Editorial Team

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Where we sailed

Our fabulous fleet of seven ships sailed just under 600,000 nautical miles in 2023, visiting 66 different countries across six continents. Of the 180 unique ports we visited, our ships spent most of their time in Spain, Norway, and Portugal, followed by Greece, Italy, and Barbados.

 

We laid anchor in Lisbon most often in 2023, followed by Cádiz and Madeira. Stavanger was also popular with 31 calls to the Norwegian port in 2023 across four different ships. 

Who sailed the farthest? That would be Aurora – she crossed the Atlantic six times in 2023!

Lisbon, our most visited port in 2023
Lisbon, our most visited port in 2023
Lisbon, our most visited port in 2023
Lisbon, our most visited port in 2023

What you enjoyed on board

We welcomed no less than eight new production shows on board in 2023 and 1,838 entertainers dazzled guests across the fleet. On Arvia, there were plenty of fun-filled days – 7,000 daredevils testing their mettle on Altitude Skywalk, our first high-ropes experience set 54 meters above the ocean, while Mission Control, our immersive simulation experience, was played over 1,500 times. 

 

Altitude Skywalk on Arvia
Altitude Skywalk on Arvia
Altitude Skywalk on Arvia
Altitude Skywalk on Arvia
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How you spent your time on shore

One in 2 of our guests discovered our destinations with a shore experience. We worked with 177 local suppliers and developed 1,968 unique tours for our guests. Fancy hurtling through the Madeiran capital Funchal in a toboggan next year? In Spain and Portugal – two of our most visited destinations – you can do just that on our most popular shore experience, which also includes a sky-high cable car ride to see the best of the island from on high. How about taking the scenic St. Kitts Railway tour? This tropical train ride was our most booked Caribbean shore experience in 2023. 

Cable car in Funchal, Madeira
Cable car in Funchal, Madeira
Cable car in Funchal, Madeira
Cable car in Funchal, Madeira

What you ate and drank on board

Last year, 2,400 bottles of Marabelle Gin, 175,000 piña coladas, 10,000 bottles of Champagne, 1.4 million pints of draught beer, lager, or cider and 250,000 lattes from Costa Coffee were drank on board. We do make a mean piña colada! For breakfast, we served an average of 5,000 slices of bacon, 515,000 melons and 9.5 million eggs per ship.

Old Fortress in Dubrovnik Harbour

How we celebrated Christmas on board 

Everyone should experience a Christmas in sunnier climes just once, and when it comes to Christmas, we’re setting the bar high. On average, 19,800 crackers are pulled on Christmas Day and 1,600 mince pies are eaten with Christmas dinner. Throughout December, 1,300 glasses of mulled wine are drunk while On New Year’s Eve, 4,500 cocktails are served and 1,642 bottles of fizz are popped in celebration.

There’s always holiday happiness to be found on a P&O Cruises holiday – here’s to many more years of racking up those holiday numbers.